Hello everyone, I'm nutritionist He Haizhen. The author is a native of the countryside and a lover of Chinese herbal medicine. Follow me and share with you all kinds of wild grasses common in the countryside every day to learn more about herbal medicine.
Today, the author shares this weed, there are many people who have seen it, it can be said that it is flooded in the countryside, often used as a weed by the farmer's uncle, but it is a "treasure" for the rural baby, because its underground rhizome is the "crystal radish" that we often eat when we were children, and many people have eaten it.
Presumably, many friends in the countryside have guessed that this kind of wild grass is the safflower grass that everyone in the countryside is very familiar with, because it blooms with red flowers, the color is gorgeous, and the flowers are very vigorous when they bloom, just like a red ocean, so it is called "safflower grass".
In fact, the scientific name of its plant is Safflower sorrel. There are many aliases about it, because its leaves are three-leafed, and its taste is as sour as vinegar, so there are many aliases such as three-leaf sour grass, sour plum grass, sour grass, sour berry grass, sour pulp, three-leaf red grass, sour motherwort, sour yoyo and so on.
Safflower sorrel is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Sorrel, we can see it in the field, wasteland, grassland, vegetable garden, understory, hillside, river valley, bank bank, roadside, etc., it is everywhere in the countryside, and is one of the most common weeds in the countryside.
Because safflower sorrel likes a warm and sunny environment, and has strong drought resistance, but is not cold-tolerant, it is mainly distributed in the southern part of the mainland, and is wild in all parts of the south, especially in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Fujian, Zhejiang and other provinces and regions.
Anyone who knows safflower sorrel knows that its leaves are basal, the petiole is slender, the leaflet often has 3 pieces, it is inverted heart-shaped, the leaf vein in the middle of the leaf is obvious, and it is evergreen all year round, the leaf is larger, this kind of leaf is called "clover" by many people.
In the past, when supplies were scarce, many people had the habit of eating wild vegetables, and safflower sorrel was also one of the wild vegetables, but it was often disliked because of its sour taste like vinegar. The so-called "radish greens, each has his own love", some people like its sour taste, and it tastes very sour.
The young stems and leaves of safflower sorrel can be eaten raw, can also be mixed with food, stir-fried, made soup, boiled porridge, etc., the taste is sour and refreshing, and the nutrients are also quite rich, especially containing citric acid, malic acid, oxalate and other organic acids, which have obvious antitussive and antibacterial effects, and have good health care effects.
The biggest feature of the whole plant is not its leaves and gorgeous flowers, but its underground spherical phosphorus stem, which looks crystal clear after washing, like crystal, and has a peculiar shape, similar to a small radish, so it is often called "crystal radish" by us.
This kind of "crystal radish" is a rare "baby" in the countryside, it is a small snack that we often eat in childhood, it tastes sweet and delicious, it can be eaten as a snack, and can be used to make soup and drink, it is very popular among the people, adults and children like it.
At the same time, safflower sorrel also has a certain medicinal effect, its whole herb can be used as medicine, with the effect of clearing heat and dampness, cooling blood and dissipating stasis, reducing swelling and detoxification, sore throat, chronic bronchitis, acute hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, stomatitis, pharyngitis, diarrhea, vomiting blood and other diseases.
Dear friends, do you have this kind of safflower sorrel in your hometown? It is the "crystal radish" that we used to eat when we were children, and now it is the right time to dig it, how many people have eaten it? If you meet it in your hometown, remember to dig some and taste it, and miss the taste of childhood.
Remark:
1. This article is a popular science article and does not constitute medication advice, please follow the doctor's advice!
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